The Allure of Death Valley in the Summer

Roughly a quarter of the visitors to the national park visit in June, July and August, when temperatures soar over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

- ALEX SCHECHTER

Death Valley bills itself as the lowest, driest, and hottest national park in America. Each summer, an outlandish heat grips the valley, making it unfit for humans.

People come anyway. Around 250,000 of the more than 1 million people who visit the park annually come in June, July, and August. In 2024, the park logged 1.4 million visitors for the entire year, the highest ever.

The park's popularity coincides with another trend: rising temperatures. Seven of the 10 hottest summers in the park have occurred in the last decade. In 2007, the average temperature was 102.6 degrees; in 2024, 104.5. Last July, the park withstood temperatures of 125 or higher for nine days in a row: a record. This summer, temperatures have risen as high as 124.